Katharine Birbalsingh, who was appointed chair of the Social Mobility Committee (SMC) in 2021, told Sky News that while she liked the prime minister, she did not think he was “professional enough”, adding that his personal life made her “rise”. the eyebrow”. . Birbalsingh, the headmistress of Michaela Community School in Wembley, which was recently the subject of a documentary called Britain’s Strictest Headmistress, was asked if she thought Johnson was a good role model. Katharine Birbalsingh. Photo: S Meddle / ITV / Rex / Shutterstock He said: “No, I do not think so, I wish it could be, but it is not and that is a little sad. “I like Boris, I do not think he is bad, but I do not know enough about what he has done, but I do not think he is a good role model for children.” When pushed because she believed this, she said: “His personal life, for example, makes me raise my eyebrows. The other day I saw a photo of him on the subway and I looked at his hair and I thought, God, we expect our children to have professional-looking hair. “Now, you might think this is a little meticulous and a little silly, but it really is not. It is important to look professional and sometimes Boris looks professional, but sometimes he is not professional enough for me. Put it that way. “ Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am In her inaugural address as president of the SMC, Birbalsingh called for a radical rethinking of what social mobility means, saying it should not just be about opening up elite streets to the few. He argued that expanding access to the university “did not always bring the expected dividends”, although more than 80% of sixth-graders at the school where she is principal went to Russell Group’s universities last year.
